Thanks for the support guys, it was amazing.
It was raining when she woke up. Or maybe that was why she woke up, she didn’t know.
She lifted her head slowly, trying to get a clue as to where she had spent the night. The rain obscured most from sight, but she could dimly make out the sides of the alley she was lying in. A small trickle of water ran past her head, running off to somewhere else.
And she was still alone.
The memories of the day before swept through her head. The running, the fun, the learning...
...The loss, the sadness, the heartbreak.
She felt that she was starting to understand what the pony yesterday had been going through, one of the ones that looked like her, the one that had been drawing in the dirt. She realised what she must have been feeling, what she must have been thinking.
And now she was gone too, gone with all the rest of the hers, except for the one that got away. Why did she get to live anyway? What made her special? Why was she different from the other? She didn’t look different, she acted almost the same.
So why was she not gone? Out of all of the other-hers, why did she continue on with her life?
She gave a heavy sigh, letting her head droop until it touched the ground again. The sun was barely visible, just a darkish brownish blob from beyond the clouds. A wind was blowing somewhere, the eerie howling of it audible as it rushed past the haphazard houses, making the few unlatched windows bang loudly.
It was depressing.
The phrase popped into her head, just like yesterday. There was no reason why it appeared, it just did, as bright as day. Depressing. It was the only word that seemed to sum up her attitude at the moment, the only word that she knew that came anywhere close to describing her outlook. She wasn’t having fun, she wasn’t joyous, happy, laughing, jumping, hopping, skipping...
She was sad. But was that word bad enough? No, it wasn’t. She was...
She was...
Really sad?
Another sigh, another shake of the head, another minute passing with no heed. She may have been crying, she may have been stoic, in the rain there was no way of knowing. It made her feel insignificant, like she wasn’t of real importance, just another tiny speck of dust that nopony would pay attention to, preferring to let it be swept away.
The raining continued, showing no sign of stopping. Was that what she was like? Was she just another raindrop being washed away? Being swept up and carried into a drain somewhere? Was she one of millions of identical copies?
It seemed so, there was no way that she wasn’t. There had been so many ponies that looked just like her, acted just like her, thought just like her.
But why? Why were there so many of her when there was only ever one of the other ponies? Why was she the one that was disposable, the one that was allowed to be thrown away carelessly?!
It just wasn’t fair...
She was crying now, she could feel the tears sweeping down her muzzle in the split second before they were washed away, just another droplet in a shifting and floating sea. The raining redoubled, as if accepting a sacrifice, bearing down harder than ever.
Maybe she could find somepony that could tell her the answer? Somepony who knew why all this was happening? Would they tell her?
Or would they make her disappear as well...
The image of the purple unicorn, her horn glowing as she banished the pink ponies, appeared in her mind. It was a terrifying memory, grief and confusion turning it into something that she imagined would be in a horror movie. Her horn was sharp, filed to a point. The purple light instead a writhing serpent of flame.
The neutrality in her face? That was the same. That hadn’t changed. The whole time she’d spent ‘getting rid’ of her images she hadn’t even stopped, hadn’t hesitated to question her actions at any point.
What kind of pony would do that?
Not the kind of pony that she would want to share a town with, not at all. She had to get away, find somewhere to hide, to lie low for a while, maybe hope that the whole thing would blow over eventually. She knew that it was an unlikely dream, but she had no choice. She looked like her, frizzy tail and all. Apparently that was bad if she wasn’t that other her, the one that was allowed to walk away unscathed.
The drenched pony staggered to her hooves, trying to force herself against the force of the rain falling and the weight of it soaked into her coat. It was almost dark, the rain was that heavy. The sun still hadn’t managed to penetrate the dark ceiling above, only barely spreading any light at all.
She had no idea where she was either. The backstreets of Ponyville could be like a maze, a labyrinth, the biggest trap. Ordinarily she might have been able to find her way out, if it hadn’t been raining, but the confusion of her running coupled with the torrential downpour scrambled any chance of her making a plan to get out.
It seemed that there was no other option but to walk, and hope that she would find herself in the open, and maybe, just maybe she would get out of the hell that was Ponyville, once and for all.
The clopping of her hooves on the cobblestone was completely lost, drowned out by other sounds, the banging of the unlocked windows, the whooshing of the rain, the faint gurgling of the drains as gallons of water poured through them every second.
Step, step, sigh, step, step, step, step, blink, step, step...
The monotony of her task started to wear in. She could only keep walking, and walking, and walking. There was no way of knowing her position, so whenever she came to an intersection she just picked a direction at random and set off again. The sheer size of the alley system started to get to her. She’d never realised just how winding and impossible it was. The designer had either been a genius...
...Or a very deranged pony.
And it was doing her no favours now. She just wanted to get out, to see a wide open plain, no other pony in site. No threats, no chances of a unicorn trying to make her disappear. Just space. Relaxation. Peace. No worries, nothing stressful. Just...
...Silence.
She froze, the word penetrating her sodden skull in an instant. Wasn’t silence the exact opposite of what she wanted? She wanted noise, movement, ponies, fun, happiness. But not silence. She felt that she’d had enough silence to last a lifetime, and she definitely didn’t want any more any time soon, preferably never.
But at the same time she didn’t want to see anypony...
What did she want?! Why was she so confused?! Why did nothing make sense?!
She slammed a hoof against the cobble, barely containing her annoyance while at the same time wanting to smack the wall so very very hard. Nothing was simple here! The facts were out of sight! She had to know why they wanted her gone in the first place!
For a moment, just a moment, she caught sight of her own image on the road in front of her. But it wasn’t another her, not in that way, it was just a reflection, undisturbed as it was sheltered underneath her wet form, hidden from the sky.
And it looked angry.
It looked like it wanted to attack, to rip, to tear, to vent the frustration. It looked like it wanted to kill, to break free. It looked like something that had suffered to the point of not suffering any more...
But that wasn’t what it was entirely. It also looked sad.
It looked like it wanted the terror to stop, the fear to end, the paranoia to cease. It looked sick, and tired, and hungry, and cold, and so so mistreated. It looked like a vagabond, a pony that nopony else would go near, a desperate pony that would stop at nothing...
But that wasn’t it either.
It looked lost.
Behind the face, behind the mask of pain and suffering and sadness, it looked lost. It looked like a pony that wasn’t sure what to do, a pony that had run out of options, whatever they were. It looked like a pony that just wanted a friend, just wanted a hug, someone else to lean on, to confide in, a shoulder to cry on.
It looked unsure, like the slightest change in plan would leave it questioning, wondering why something had happened the way it did. It looked like it had questions, but that nopony would answer them. It was wondering why, and how, and what, and when...
And then the moment was gone, and the puddle vanished. It was just another image of her that had been washed down the drain to disappear forever, still questioning, still unsure, wanting to know what it was feeling, not why. It hadn’t gotten to the stage of why, it just wanted simple answers.
She stared at the spot that the puddle had been in, still hoping that it would come back, just to give her another pony to look at, even if it was her. Anything was better than nothing. For a moment she thought that she saw a shadow fly overhead, but when she looked up it was gone, as if it wasn’t real.
Her mind had gotten to the stage that it was playing tricks on her too. She could almost imagine that she could hear other ponies talking, chatting amiably. But she knew enough to realise that that would never happen, not in this weather, in this area...
But the sounds were growing louder, and the rain was still there. Could it possibly be...
YES! She could hear them now! She could hear the ponies as they talked, as they walked. Their voices were muffled by the rain, sure, but she could still make out the sounds themselves, and she knew a pony’s voice when she heard it. She just had to walk towards the voice and she’d meet another pony and then she’d escape...
Then again, what if they didn’t want to help her? What if they just wanted her gone too, just like the others? Should she talk to them?
Maybe just a peek wouldn’t hurt...
Nervously, she tiphooved closer to the sounds of the voices, not that it would do much anyway, but it was the idea that counted. She could hear them growing closer. The ponies were on the move. But why? Why would a pony purposely wander around in the rain if there was no reason to be out? Another intersection was ahead, maybe they’d be near there?
She reached the turning and poked her head around the corner - only tentatively, so as to have the option of running - and it became perfectly clear.
It was the five ponies. Five ponies and her. They were searching every nook and cranny of the alley, the purple one at the lead with her horn aglow, lighting up the way. It was clear that they weren’t having fun, but at least they weren’t wet or anything, the purple one had a spell overhead stopping the rain.
And she was there as well, or at least the other her, the one that had gotten away. She seemed slightly pensive, another word that appeared to her. Why, she didn’t know, but she could only hope...
She knew that if they stepped out and into the rain, away from the light, that they’d become just as lost as she was. They had to stick together. Strength in numbers and all.
Six against one. Strength and numbers against weakness and loneliness. It wasn’t looking good. She immediately backed away, drawing in a sharp breath. This was bad. If those ponies found her she’d be in a lot more trouble than she already was, and that was about five times worse than the word bad, which was bad in itself, so it was...
No. Now wasn’t the time to get silly. She had to stay focused, figure out a way to disappear, but not in that way.
She looked around behind her, searching for any way to run that wouldn’t end in her getting more trapped and lost than she already was. The anxiety jumped up another notch as she started making out the words of the other ponies, drifting around the corner and through the rain.
“Come on!” one pony said, “We have got to search harder if we want any chance of finding it! There’s no knowing what it could be up to!”
It? What were they...
“I agree, darling. Fluttershy, if you want to find it you’re going to have to poke your head out from behind my mane eventually. Every moment that we delay only allowed that thing to get further a-”
Thing? What...
The prim voice stopped for a second, but came back in force. “Rainbow Dash! What do you think you’re doing! Get out of the trash can, there’s no knowing what is inside that thing!”
A clang filled the air, and she could hear garbage scatter before being swept away. “Exactly Rares,” the voice said, “But I thought I heard something! I think that it’s hiding near here!”
But she wasn’t...
“And I’m not giving up until I find it! It could just be around that corner for all we know!”
She gasped, clamping a hoof over her mouth to prevent anything from escaping, but it was too late, they must have been too close, or they must have had good hearing, or anything, because the voices abruptly stopped.
“Twi,” one voice said, the one that had been in the trash can, “Am I the only one that heard that?”
“Ah don’t think so RD, I heard it too. Twilight, turn up the amplification-magiggy on that spell of yours, see if we can’t hear this thing...”
A static noise filled the air for a moment before stopping, a slight whistling piercing the rain. She didn’t know what they were talking about, but she knew that it couldn’t be good, and she couldn’t let them find her, ever.
So she did the first thing that came to mind, the thing that she knew she’d be doing for a long time, possibly the rest of her life.
She ran. Again. She rain through the rain, ignoring the cold and the wetness that it brought with it. They were insignificant, they didn’t matter when she was being chased by ponies that wanted to get rid of her.
And she knew that they were chasing her. The moment that her hoof had hit the cobble to start her moving they’d shouted out in alarm. They knew she was there, and they were after her. The noises of their movements chased her too, pushing her to her limits in an effort to lose the hellish pursuers. She still didn’t know exactly why they were chasing her, and they didn’t seem like they were going to allow her any questions at all.
She had no choice but to keep going, and to hope for the best. She sprinted, her hooves beating a hasty staccato against the hard cobblestone surface, slippery from the rain.
And then she hit the wall. Literally. With the rain whipping against her face she hadn’t even noticed the sudden fork in the alley, not noticing it as it drew closer until it hit her. The report of her impact echoed around the enclosed space.
She slumped to the ground, not able to move, stunned. The impact had dazed her, and she’d collapsed right into a pile of what looked like garbage bags, the black material of them clumped up against her pink fur as she collapsed.
She heard the hoofsteps getting louder and louder. They were getting closer to her unwanted hiding spot, she knew that, but she didn’t know if they’d find her or not. The quivering pony could only hope that they would overlook her and move on, leaving her to whatever fate threw her way.
Then the hoofsteps slowed, and stopped altogether. It seemed like the six ponies knew where the trail stopped, and they were getting suspicious.
She started trembling.
She couldn’t quite hear what they were saying, their voices were being distorted by the rain, the bags around her and the stars spinning around her or, or at least what felt like it. They sounded like they were trying to figure something out, to decide something. One of them sounded like she was about to go and search every single bit of cover in the alley anywhere.
She trembled harder.
Visions flashed through her head of them finding her in various horrible ways. In one the blue pegasus would fly by and grab the bags, revealing her. In another, the purple magic would worm through her cover and pull her out slowly, savouring the anguish and pain...
And then another voice appeared. It was different from all the rest. It sounded panicked and shocked, and more than a little scared. It sounded like it was trying to get a message across to the other six ponies.
But what? Was the voice pointing out her hiding spot? Was it revealing her and telling the other to make her go away?
The thoughts flew out of her head as the sound of six pairs of hoofbeats running away reached her ears. Shaking the dizziness out of her head, she peeked out from the top of her hideaway and just caught the back ends of the six terrors as they disappeared into the rain.
Another pony was standing there, and she turned to face her, not even stopping to find her, she knew where she was all along. She was a pegasus, that much was obvious, a dull grey one at that. A blonde mane hung damp over one shoulder, and one of her eyes pierced the rain to look at her while the other wandered elsewhere. She had a small brown bag strapped across her flank.
And she did the strangest thing.
She smiled at her. It was an unsure smile, but it a smile at least.
The pegasus took another glance around before furtively streaking over to her, hidden away in her bags. The pegasus reached a hoof in and wrapped it around her, pulling her out and into the open.
She tried to struggle, but the pony put pressure around her and gripped tighter. “Shhh,” she said, “don’t make a fuss. We’ve got to get you out of here.” Her voice was urgent and clear, strangely calming.
The mysterious pony lead her in the opposite direction to the way that the others had gone before glancing around and going to the corner of the alley and stopping. The pink pony looked at her quizzically, but the grey pony just smiled and reached behind her.
She pulled a key out of her bag. A very small, brass key. The key was directed into a lock, which turned the mechanism, which released the catch, which opened the door in the side of the alley.
Her helper pulled her inside, quickly closing the door behind them. Instantly the sound of the rain cut off entirely, filling the place with silence.
But it was a good kind of silence, and she enjoyed it.
The inside of the house was small, but in a cosy way. Small armchairs were in various corners of the different rooms. Immediately in front of her there was a staircase, and two arches led off to other rooms, the crackling of a fireplace drifting through one.
She looked around in wonderment, trying to take it all in at once, an impossible feat in itself, but was interrupted as the pony turned to her.
The pegasus smiled, an amazing smile that seemed to light up the whole room and make it even brighter than it already was. But it looked a little nervous, and a little unsure.
But that didn’t stop the pony. “So,” she said, “I bet you’re wondering why I brought you here, and honestly? I’m thinking the same question.”
She sighed. “That doesn’t matter now, we’ve gotta get you all sorted, and then...” She trailed off.
“Then I’ll want to ask some things...”